My poor oprington is being ridden bare:( help

[bops]

I have nine hens and two roosters ( old silkie and a newbie miniature sussex ) I have the sussex only six days. This morning when i opened the shed door Peach my oprington ran out, she is starting to get bare patches on her neck and back. I dont think its the sussex because he is still new and Peach intimidates him and chases him away, but it looks too close together to be from the bigger silkie roo. I really dont want to cull either of them. What can i do to stop this? I plan to buy two pullets tomorrow if that helps ease it im not sure :/ How many hens should you have per rooster? Thanks

 

[bops]

And her feathers were all over the place, yesterday there was only one or two and i thought she might be moulting but i wasnt paying great attention to it :/

 

[theoldchick]

You can try putting a chicken apron on her.

You can either buy one or make your own.

Good luck!

 

[bops]

Is there any other way? She is very jumpy and nervous and i dont think she would take it too well

 

[theoldchick]

Well, I'm not sure. My skittish hen did well with hers, but I had to remove the rooster from the flock on a daily basis to give all the hens time away from his amorous behavior. If you take the hen from the flock, you'll end up with another bare hen.


My hen adapted quickly to hers. When I first put it on she didn't move. Then she fell over like I had killed her. Then she figured out she wasn't dead, hopped up, and did fine.

 

[bops]

How could i make a relatively easy one? Im a bit of a clutz haha

 

[bops]

Its a bit loose, i think i will have to remake one

I dont think she is happy with my choice of fashion for her

 

[bops]

How long can i expect it to last?

 

[theoldchick]

I still have the ones I purchased from two years ago. How long the apron last is according to how well it is made, and the type of material you used. Now if you are referring to how long the rooster will make the hen bald-well....he'll do that until he either matures, finds another submissive hen, or dies. Rooster are roosters.


One of the most common problems with homemade aprons is they will 'flip up' over the hen's shoulders and defeat the purpose of wearing the apron. If you notice this you may have to use a heavier duty material with reinforced center and sides-put extra stitches to make it stronger.

Looks like you are pretty handy with your hands. You might just figure out a new and improved design of the hen apron. Good luck!

 

[bops]

No. 2
I might stick on lollipop sticks somehow to prevent that
Thanks for all the help